Good morning and Happy Sunday! Welcome to the first day of the return to "Standard" time-the day we get an extra hour in the day to make up for the one we lost in March. To be honest, I prefer daylight savings time to standard time because I prefer more light at the end of my work day, but this day of "falling back" was timed very well for some much needed extra sleep! Luckily the girls agreed and we all got a little extra rest last night.
We have had a busy and eventful week full of Halloween activities. The Halloween holiday is one of my favorites because it is fun. It gives everyone a chance to dress up and act silly. Plus there's candy! I love to watch the excitement of the trick-or-treaters as they come to my door. I especially love it because of the fun opportunities it gives me for a couple of adventures close to home with the girls.
Our Halloween fun always starts with a trip to Howl-o-ween in Lansing's Old Town. The event is sponsored by Preuss' Pet store and several local businesses participate. I've been taking Imke and Maddie since the event started several years ago and it is one of their favorite things to do every year and this year was no different. There was much excitement and barking as I brought the costumes up from the basement. Imke clearly knew what was about to happen!
After getting everyone dressed, we hopped in the Jeep, and we were off. I wanted to make sure that Peaches got the full Howl-o-ween experience and with her leash-reactivity issues around other dogs, we needed to get there early to avoid the crowds.
We arrived just before the event started and I got Peaches out to go on her trick-or-treating adventure. She can be a handful so it just made sense for me to take her all on her own. She learned quickly that if she sat nicely for the people in front of the store, that she would be rewarded. We made the rounds, she got to eat some treats, and we saved some treats for later. And as things started to get busier, we headed back to the Jeep so Imke and Maddie could have their turn too.
While both of the girls love trick-or-treating, their approach to the event and the parts they enjoy most are vastly different. Maddie is excited to be out meeting new friends of both the two-legged and four-legged variety. She especially enjoys stopping to let kids pet her, snuggling right in for some love. She is always excited to find a stop with a big bowl of water for a good long drink. She also enjoys getting treats and frequently tries to stick her head in the bags or pumpkins of other trick-or-treaters to steal a tasty bite. There isn't much about this adventure that Maddie doesn't love.
Imke, on the other hand, only cares about meeting people if they have something to offer...and for her that means food. There is no need to pet her, she is on a mission to get treats! She does enjoy meeting other furry friends, but after a quick sniff hello, she is ready to move on to the next stop...with food. She is ever opportunistic and, even though someone has given her a treat, she is sure that they would love to give her more. And she will turn on the charm. First she will sit. She will stay there sitting nicely, looking pretty with her big brown eyes and perky ears. If sitting doesn't work, she will offer a paw for a shake or a high-five, still waiting patiently, sure that these tricks will end in a reward. Finally, if there are no treats forthcoming, she will nudge gently with her nose before she loses patience and barks. Generally, one of these offering will end in reward. Her persistence has paid off! And then, with some serious coaxing from mom (because who wants to walk away from free treats?), we will move on to the next stop.
Imke has helped with this activity for all of her life and was barking with excitement as I started to cut the top open. This year, in her enthusiasm, she even grabbed a hold of he pumpkin and took a bite out of the top! Silly goof! She was just so excited for a special treat!
I had an audience as I carved and they all were treated to some pumpkin innards for being so helpful.
Of course Imke didn't think I was giving her enough attention or pumpkin treats and wanted to make sure I knew she was there.
Finally it was here, Halloween night! Bentley joined us for the festivities and I wanted to get a nice picture of everyone outside with my decorations. But as anyone who has a GSP knows, I nice picture with four dogs doesn't always work out at planned. There were far too many interesting things to smell...especially since the neighborhood squirrel population has found my yard to be a great place to come for a mid-afternoon snack lately.
But at least I got three of the four to stay long enough to get one good picture. I have to say that this is on of my favorite pictures of them together. Too bad it's missing Maddie, but she did cooperate for a shot by herself.
It was a good Halloween night. The weather was perfect and I was able to sit out on the front porch to hand out candy while the girls stayed inside to watch the kids. Peaches stood in the door, often joined be Imke so that they didn't miss a thing. Maddie, on the other hand, decided to take a nap. It was a great night and a great Halloween season with lots of good memories. We checked a lot of items off Peaches bucket list and continue to enjoy the time we have left with Imke. I know Halloween is always one of her favorite times of the year. I'm so glad we were able to enjoy it all together.
After a busy night of watching trick-or-treaters, there is always the post Halloween crash! It is exhausting being so cute!
We have had a busy and eventful week full of Halloween activities. The Halloween holiday is one of my favorites because it is fun. It gives everyone a chance to dress up and act silly. Plus there's candy! I love to watch the excitement of the trick-or-treaters as they come to my door. I especially love it because of the fun opportunities it gives me for a couple of adventures close to home with the girls.
Our Halloween fun always starts with a trip to Howl-o-ween in Lansing's Old Town. The event is sponsored by Preuss' Pet store and several local businesses participate. I've been taking Imke and Maddie since the event started several years ago and it is one of their favorite things to do every year and this year was no different. There was much excitement and barking as I brought the costumes up from the basement. Imke clearly knew what was about to happen!
After getting everyone dressed, we hopped in the Jeep, and we were off. I wanted to make sure that Peaches got the full Howl-o-ween experience and with her leash-reactivity issues around other dogs, we needed to get there early to avoid the crowds.
We arrived just before the event started and I got Peaches out to go on her trick-or-treating adventure. She can be a handful so it just made sense for me to take her all on her own. She learned quickly that if she sat nicely for the people in front of the store, that she would be rewarded. We made the rounds, she got to eat some treats, and we saved some treats for later. And as things started to get busier, we headed back to the Jeep so Imke and Maddie could have their turn too.
While both of the girls love trick-or-treating, their approach to the event and the parts they enjoy most are vastly different. Maddie is excited to be out meeting new friends of both the two-legged and four-legged variety. She especially enjoys stopping to let kids pet her, snuggling right in for some love. She is always excited to find a stop with a big bowl of water for a good long drink. She also enjoys getting treats and frequently tries to stick her head in the bags or pumpkins of other trick-or-treaters to steal a tasty bite. There isn't much about this adventure that Maddie doesn't love.
Imke, on the other hand, only cares about meeting people if they have something to offer...and for her that means food. There is no need to pet her, she is on a mission to get treats! She does enjoy meeting other furry friends, but after a quick sniff hello, she is ready to move on to the next stop...with food. She is ever opportunistic and, even though someone has given her a treat, she is sure that they would love to give her more. And she will turn on the charm. First she will sit. She will stay there sitting nicely, looking pretty with her big brown eyes and perky ears. If sitting doesn't work, she will offer a paw for a shake or a high-five, still waiting patiently, sure that these tricks will end in a reward. Finally, if there are no treats forthcoming, she will nudge gently with her nose before she loses patience and barks. Generally, one of these offering will end in reward. Her persistence has paid off! And then, with some serious coaxing from mom (because who wants to walk away from free treats?), we will move on to the next stop.
After visiting all of the stores and ending up with a bag full of goodies, we headed back to get Peaches so we could take a short walk along the riverwalk together. It was a beautiful fall evening and a great time was had by all!
Another fun activity the girls enjoy every year is pumpkin carving. While they are clearly not able to help carve a pumpkin, they do love to eat pumpkin!
Imke has helped with this activity for all of her life and was barking with excitement as I started to cut the top open. This year, in her enthusiasm, she even grabbed a hold of he pumpkin and took a bite out of the top! Silly goof! She was just so excited for a special treat!
I had an audience as I carved and they all were treated to some pumpkin innards for being so helpful.
Of course Imke didn't think I was giving her enough attention or pumpkin treats and wanted to make sure I knew she was there.
The best part is that after the pumpkins are carved, I always have enough pumpkin to add to their meals for several days afterwards. It is a healthy treat that they all thoroughly enjoy.
Finally it was here, Halloween night! Bentley joined us for the festivities and I wanted to get a nice picture of everyone outside with my decorations. But as anyone who has a GSP knows, I nice picture with four dogs doesn't always work out at planned. There were far too many interesting things to smell...especially since the neighborhood squirrel population has found my yard to be a great place to come for a mid-afternoon snack lately.
But at least I got three of the four to stay long enough to get one good picture. I have to say that this is on of my favorite pictures of them together. Too bad it's missing Maddie, but she did cooperate for a shot by herself.
As the time drew near for trick-or-treaters to arrive, Maddie took her favorite post to watch out the window. She does this every year in anticipation of our visitors.
It was a good Halloween night. The weather was perfect and I was able to sit out on the front porch to hand out candy while the girls stayed inside to watch the kids. Peaches stood in the door, often joined be Imke so that they didn't miss a thing. Maddie, on the other hand, decided to take a nap. It was a great night and a great Halloween season with lots of good memories. We checked a lot of items off Peaches bucket list and continue to enjoy the time we have left with Imke. I know Halloween is always one of her favorite times of the year. I'm so glad we were able to enjoy it all together.
As a bonus, I thought I would share a couple of throwback picture to Halloween gone by...all the way back to the original two. Poor Imke has suffered with me dressing her up her whole life. Every year Imke was a princess and Jake was Super Jake...and then in 2010 we added a bumblebee. Imke's princess costume stopped fitting so this was the last year as a princess, but I still have Jake's cape. This was Maddie's first Halloween with us.
After a busy night of watching trick-or-treaters, there is always the post Halloween crash! It is exhausting being so cute!
The two pictures below are probably my favorite Halloween pictures ever. These are from Halloween 2011. This was Jake's last Halloween with us. I love this picture of him with the girls playing in the background. They were so much younger then!
Just look at those happy faces!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.